After five years as a freshman volleyball coach, Ashley Boyce was getting antsy.
"I was thinking of resigning," said the Granite City assistant, a fifth-grade teacher at Mitchell Elementary. "I was tired of being an assistant and wanted to move on."
So Boyce did just that, leaving her coaching position last fall in order to focus on possibly furthering her education and spending more time with her family. But before you could say libero, the Granite City volleyball head coaching job was vacant. And just as quickly, it was filled.
"I found out it was open until just before the end of the calendar year," Boyce said. "But at the time I was kind of in the mindset that I wanted to do something else.
"Someone was hired in December, but it didn't work out."
Fast forward to the end of this school year. Boyce got wind that the job was open again, so this time the 2001 Granite City High graduate pounced on it like an outside hitter going after a perfect set.
The hiring of Boyce, 27, was approved during the Granite City School Board meeting on June 29. And she didn't waste any time putting up the nets.
Boyce hurriedly got workout times in place the first week of July, and reports that the numbers weren't too bad. A few upperclassmen showed up to lead the others, which included 20 freshmen.
"We lost a little bit of time as it is," Boyce said. "There are some players who have not been there, and they are not mandatory practices ... If some choose to concentrate on basketball, I can understand that. As the new head coach, I have to focus on the girls I do have coming out."
The former Ashley Bogovich, Boyce and her husband Brian live in Troy with their two-year-old daughter Erica. Boyce also served as an assistant softball coach at Granite City High while she was attending Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Though the high school has come under fire in the last year for the actions of several coaches and the firing of an athletics director, Boyce said none of that ever factored into her decision to accept the position.
"Absolutely not," she said. "I am from Granite City and I am proud to work in Granite City. It is not necessarily easy to get hired at Granite. It is a very good district to work in."
A three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, softball), Boyce's first love was softball. She didn't start playing volleyball until middle school, where she developed a passion for the game. She played basketball for the Warriors under current head coach John Moad. Granite City's last winning volleyball season was Boyce's senior season in 2000.
"I have coached every girl that is currently in our program," Boyce said. "Although the program as a whole has not been successful, these girls know how to work hard and they know how to win. It shouldn't be a shock to them when I am asking them to do something. It is not like we are totally starting over."
Boyce said her freshman volleyball teams have never had a losing season, which is not indicative of the volleyball program of late. Her assistant will be boys volleyball head coach Justin Warren, who also served as the girls volleyball assistant coach last fall.
Boyce is optimistic about what she's seen so far. Returning seniors Emily Ratkewicz and Makenzie Scott, a basketball player as well, both attended last week's workout. But Boyce better than most knows of Granite City's struggles when it comes to digs, sets and spikes.
"We don't have girls that play all year long," Boyce said. "I think that really kills us. For us to be competitive in the Southwestern Conference, I am going to have to impress upon our girls that you have to play all year long. I know that is not something that is going to happen overnight."
